The Los Angeles Waterfront will be the classroom for a new AltaSea STEM network program that will feature a partnership and coordinated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education-and-workforce ecosystem.

Anchored on the San Pedro shoreline, partners joining AltaSea will be the Battleship Iowa, the Los Angeles Maritime Institute (LAMI), Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and Los Angeles Harbor College. The entities will combine to provide a learning experience that links science, history, innovation, and workforce pathways.

“The L.A. Waterfront is one of the most powerful classrooms in California,” said Terry Tamminem, president and CEO of AltaSea, located 2451 S. Signal St., San Pedro, at Berth 58 in the Port of Los Angeles and across from Warehouse One. “By working together, we can give students hands-on experiences that open their eyes to the ocean, the port, and the incredible career opportunities growing in the blue economy.”

The new program gives students a chance to “see, touch, and understand the future they can help build,” he said in a written statement announcing the new program.

It will approach the studies from both an education and workforce development standpoint. The network is designed to provide an immersive STEM eduction, certificate programs, paid internships, apprenticeships, mentorships, educator training and community engagement.

“The Los Angeles Waterfront STEM Network shows what is possible when our educational, nonprofit, and maritime institutions come together around a shared mission,” Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker said, adding it will “turn our waterfront into a living classroom where students can explore marine science at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, experience innovation and ocean technology at AltaSea, learn our nation’s maritime history aboard the Battleship Iowa, and sail on a tall ship through the Los Angeles Maritime Institute.”

Students, he said, will have opportunities to connect with hands-on learning and career pathways through the program.

Activities have already begun and there will be expanded programs beginning in the fall.

For more information, contact AltaSea’s Robin Aube, fundraising, at raube@altasea.org; for education programming and scheduling, contact Alan Hill at ahill@altasea.org.